Host Western Washington University saw a 21-point lead slip away, then rallied in the final minutes and claimed an 84-70 victory over arch-rival Central Washington University in a NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional first-round game Friday before a crowd of 2,314 on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Guard Morris Anderson scored a game-high 23 points as the Vikings, ranked No.15 in the final regular-season National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA II Top 25 Poll and the No.1 seed in the region, improved to 26-5.

The NCAA Division II men's regional tournament at Western Washington University is under way, with BYU-Hawaii knocking off Seattle Pacific University 76-72 in the opening game.

Humboldt State University is playing CSU San Bernardino in the 2:30 p.m. game, and Dixie State University will take on Cal Poly Pomona at 5:30.

Top-seeded Western Washington University takes the court at 7:30 against arch-rival Central Washington University.

The Ross Engineering Technology building, named for former Western Washington University President G. Robert Ross (1983-1987), was completed in 1987. The building houses most of the offices, classrooms and labs for the Engineering Technology department.

A few weeks of late-winter sun have spurred trees and plants throughout campus to begin bursting into bloom earlier than normal. Weather forecasters expect a return to cloudy, cooler weather this week, however, with temperatures staying in the high 40s and low 50s.

On Feb. 16, Western Libraries’ Special Collections will open in its new digs – a spacious and modern set of rooms on the sixth floor of Wilson Library.

The new area features climate-controlled storage areas, a huge research space, separate offices for the three Special Collections staff members and a dedicated space for workers to sort through and catalogue new material.

Forward Willow Cabe scored a game-high 26 points as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Saint Martin's University, 77-64, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest Saturday on campus. On the men's side, forward Rory Blanche came off the bench and hit his first nine shots from the field in scoring a team-high 20 points as nationally ranked WWU defeated Saint Martin's University 88-68.

Western Votes and the Associated Students of Western Washington University are planning a holding a walk-out and rally until 1:30 p.m. today, Feb. 5, in the Performing Arts Center Plaza on campus.

”In this rally it is our goal to educate the public about what it would mean to have the state's budget for higher education cut and inspire the student body into taking action to inform their legislators that they do not agree with the governor's new budget and proposed cuts to higher education,” said Western Votes member Heather Siddiqui.